With many thanks to Brian Judson, without whom this feature would not be possible.
Saturday, November 16th, 2002
Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur 3-0
Read the report here, if you dare!
Chelsea v Middlesbrough 1-0
Babyaro grabbed the only goal of the afternoon at Stamford Bridge in the
47th minute. Zola picked him out with a peach of a pass and the Nigerian
international scored his first goal since season 1998-99. But
Middlesbrough could have won the match if Cudicini had not been in such
fine form. He made several crucial saves, which left the Teessiders
frustrated.
Manchester City v Charlton Athletic 0-1
After the Lord Mayor's show, the dustcart. The Sky Blues came back to
earth with a bang as Bartlett scored the only goal of the game in the 79th
minute. The game was a very poor one with Charlton the slightly better of
two poor sides. The goal came with Manchester City stranded upfield like a
beached whale. Parker lobbed a pass to the right where Johansson was
unmarked. The Finn had plenty of time to look for Euell but the former
Wimbledon striker missed his chance and the ball ran on to Bartlett, who
hammered the ball in City's net, joyfully. Unsurprisingly, Manchester City
were jeered off the ground the had been heroes on only a week earlier.
Newcastle United v Southampton 2-1
Beattie gave the Saints a shock 2nd minute lead when he volleyed an
unstoppable shot behind Given. Ameobi equalised in the 41st minute when
Dyer tricked his way through the Saints defence to leave the striker with
a simple chance to score. Hughes grabbed what proved to be the winning
goal in the 54th minute when Viana pushed the ball into the goalmouth.
Ameoebi missed the chance to score but Hughes was on hand to turn the ball
into the net. Newcastle were sluggish, probably still feeling the effects
of their momentous Champions' League match in midweek.
West Bromwich Albion v Aston Villa 0-0
Russell Hoult was once again the hero of the hour as far as West Bromwich
Albion fans were concerned. The Baggies were by far the better side yet it
had looked as though Villa would nick the points when they were awarded a
penalty in the 73rd minute. Dublin took the penalty but Hoult correctly
guessed where the ball would go and smothered the ball. Earlier, there had
been a furious argument between Villa players and the referee, Dermot
Gallagher, after Gilchrist had upended Delaney but the referee waved play
on. As they went off at half-time, Ian Taylor and Dublin were still
disputing Gallagher's decision.
Sunday, November 17th, 2002
Birmingham City v Fulham 0-0
There was scarcely anything to note in this match. Brevett was one of two
Fulham players to be dismissed. His offence was to bring off a one-handed
save on the goal-line to prevent Birmingham from scoring in the 38th
minute. Edwin van der Sar guessed how John would take the penalty and that
ended the only likelihood of any goals in this match. Marlet was also sent
off by referee Messias after a clash with Robbie Savage, who was also
booked.
Blackburn Rovers v Everton 0-1
This victory was based on the rock of a Yobo! The signing from Marseilles
of Joseph Yobo, on loan, has added some steel to a traditionally soft
centred pack of toffees. Campbell scored the only goal of the game in the
19th minute, leaving Blackburn to batter themselves into submission.
Carsley provided the cross from which the former Arsenal striker poked
behind Friedel.
Leeds United v Bolton Wanderers 2-4
The Elland Road faithful are learning an unpleasant lesson that Venables
is not the great coach he fondly imagines himself to be. With
substantially the same side he inherited from David O'Leary, he has turned
them into chumps. Pedersen put Bolton ahead in the 3rd minute when
Djorkaeff placed a pass into his path and that was sufficient to provide
Pedersen with the chance to score as the Leeds defence disappeared. Smith
equalised straight from the kick-off when he was fed the ball by Kewell in
the 4th minute. There the score remained until Djorkaeff struck in the
80th minute. Pedersen put him through as the Leeds defence crumbled yet
again. Kewell equalised for Leeds in the 84th minute when Smith provided
the chance for the Australian international to score. Ricketts converted a
penalty in the 89th minute after Robinson had been forced to upend him to
prevent him from scoring. Pedersen added a fourth in the 90th minute when
Tofting provided the cross for him to score. The Leeds fans were hostile
to Venables as he left his dugout and strode to the dressing room.
Liverpool v Sunderland 0-0
Sunderland's tactics were designed to frustrate Liverpool. They made no
attempt to attack and did not win a single corner, whilst Liverpool won
12! Liverpool had 21 goalscoring chances and wasted them all as Macho, the
third choice goalkeeper, defied everything that came his way. So
successful were Sunderland's tactics that Liverpool did not have a clue
how to unpick the Sunderland defence. Yet Liverpool had the best player on
view in Markus Babbel before he tired.
West Ham United v Manchester United 1-1
David James still aspires to winning caps for England but he has yet to
decide whether he is 'Calamity' or 'Capability' James. Whilst producing
some breathtaking saves, he was also prone to mistakes, which, fortunately
for him, were not latched on to by Manchester United. The visitors took
the lead when Fortune put Solksjaer through. The Norwegian international's
cross was missed by Peace but not by van Nistleroy, who scored in the
38th minute. Defoe snatched an improbable equaliser in the 86th minute. He
had already been denied goals from being in an offside position and
definitely looked offside yet again. Barthez and the other defenders all
appealed for offside but referee Mark Halsey ignored them.
Pos. Pl. W. D. L. F-A. GD Pts
1 Arsenal 14 10 2 2 31-13 18 32
2 Liverpool 14 9 4 1 24-10 14 31
3 Chelsea 14 7 5 2 24-12 12 26
4 Everton 14 8 2 4 17-15 2 26
5 Man Utd 14 6 5 3 18-13 5 23
6 Newcastle 13 7 1 5 20-17 3 22
7 M'brough 14 6 3 5 16-11 5 21
8 Blackburn 14 5 5 4 19-15 4 20
9 Spurs 14 6 2 6 17-21 -4 20
10 Leeds 14 5 2 7 19-20 -1 17
11 So'pton 14 4 5 5 14-15 -1 17
12 Man City 14 5 2 7 14-20 -6 17
13 Fulham 14 4 4 6 17-18 -1 16
14 A. Villa 14 4 4 6 10-12 -2 16
15 B'mingham 14 4 4 6 14-18 -4 16
16 Charlton 14 4 2 8 11-18 -7 14
17 S'derland 14 3 5 6 8-16 -8 14
18 Bolton 13 3 3 7 16-24 -8 12
19 West Ham 14 3 3 8 14-24 -10 12
20 West Brom 14 3 3 8 10-21 -11 12
